


even so, i believe in you

by hiddenmachine



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: HeartGold & SoulSilver | Pokemon HeartGold & SoulSilver Versions
Genre: Father-Son Relationship, Gen, Pasio (Pokemon Masters), Self-Esteem Issues, [slaps silver's head] you can fit so many unresolved family issues in this bad boy, there's a tag for silver's sneasel? cool
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-24
Updated: 2020-05-24
Packaged: 2021-03-03 07:33:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 917
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24347290
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hiddenmachine/pseuds/hiddenmachine
Summary: “You should believe in yourself, too.”Lance finds Silver at the beach on Pasio and ends up giving him a pep talk. Based on the Ho-Oh special event in Pokémon Masters.
Relationships: Lance & Silver, Silver & Wataru | Lance
Kudos: 20





	even so, i believe in you

_Ho-Oh will not reveal itself to just anyone…it’s said to only appear before trainers who are pure of heart._

“Going to search for Ho-Oh…” Silver looks out over the sea, trying to ignore the nagging feeling that he made a mistake coming to Pasio. “What’s the point? It’s not like it would appear before me anyway.”

He kicks at the sand between his feet and the water. “And even if I did go…what if my presence kept Ho-Oh away from the area altogether?”

Sneasel crosses its arms and makes a chittering noise. Silver isn’t sure how to interpret that, but he thinks he sees the pokémon shake its head.

“Okay, fine, you don’t need to get all sassy on me. I’ll shut up about it now.” Sighing, he turns back to the water.

He picks up a rock and tosses it into the sea, watching as it bounces a few times before sinking. It’s not his best shot—in his frustration, he’d used too much force at too steep an angle. He finds another rock and is about to try again when he hears footsteps behind him.

Lance’s voice startles Silver into turning around. “Hey, that was a good throw.”

The older trainer stops a couple feet away and crosses his arms. “Have you been practicing that in the Dragon’s Den?”

Silver frowns, scrunching his eyebrows together. “What do you want? I’m not in the mood to battle right now.”

“That’s not why I’m here, Silver. I just want to talk.”

Silver thinks his skepticism is pretty obvious in his expression and body language, but Lance keeps going anyway. “It’s been a while since you and I have had a chance to talk like this.”

“Well, you’re never around the Dragon’s Den any—” Silver stops, looking away. “Never mind.”

Lance pauses and uncrosses his arms. “Okay, you’re right, and I can explain later. We’re both here now, though, so let’s talk about what happened earlier today.”

“There’s nothing to talk about.” Silver looks back at Lance, his jaw set. “I’m not going to bother searching for Ho-Oh.”

Undeterred, Lance folds his arms again and continues. “When we first met, you only cared about obtaining strong pokémon that could lead you to victory. The thought of loving or trusting your pokémon never occurred to you.”

“Yeah, I remember, okay? And I’m…not proud of that.”

“You saw your pokémon as nothing more than tools. That’s why you lost to me.”

Silver scoffs. “So that’s why you came to find me? To gloat? If you’re only here to rub salt in old wounds, I’m leaving.”

He turns, motioning for Sneasel to follow. “C’mon, let’s go.”

Instead of following him, Sneasel clicks its claws together and chirps a few times. Out of the corner of his eye, Silver sees the pokémon look in his direction while tilting its head toward Lance.

“But you’re different now. I can tell by looking at your pokémon.”

At this, Silver turns back to face the older trainer. “My sneasel?”

Lance nods. “It’s formed a deep bond with you. Pokémon are happiest when they’re with the people they care about the most.”

Sneasel runs over to Silver and chirps, batting the boy’s leg playfully before jumping up to push its head against his hand.

“For your sneasel to trust you this much…” A small smile appears on Lance’s face. “It means your adventures in Johto and your time with Ethan have changed you, Silver.”

Silver huffs out the beginning of a laugh. “Keep talking like that and people are gonna think you’ve retired the cape to become a pokémon professor.”

“Hey now, I’d still wear this if I were a professor.” Lance’s smile widens briefly before his face resumes a serious expression. “My point is, you’re no longer the person you once were. You’ve become a pure-hearted trainer.”

Silver scoffs again and shakes his head. “You really think it’s that easy for people to change? I’m not a good…”

He turns away slightly, looking at the ground. “I’ve done some pretty terrible things. I…stole pokémon, and I treated people like shit if they got on my nerves. And…”

He forces a laugh to distract from the way his voice wavers. It’s not very effective, but Lance doesn’t point that out. “Worst of all, my dad is…”

_A criminal. My dad is a criminal. And I’m scared that…being a bad person is in my blood._

“Even so, I believe in you. And I believe you’ve changed for the better.”

Silver looks back at Lance, unsure what to say. For some reason, he feels his throat tighten.

“I mean it, Silver.” Lance’s expression softens. He takes a few steps toward Silver.

If Silver’s brain wasn’t blue-screening right now, he’d snap something about how he doesn’t need anyone’s pity, much less Lance’s. As it is, though, he can’t do much but stand there awkwardly.

“When I look at you, I see someone who’s been through a lot but has come out of it clever, resilient, and strong.” Lance puts his hand on the younger trainer’s shoulder. Silver would never admit it, but it feels…kind of nice.

“That’s why you should believe in yourself, too.” Lance gives Silver a pat on the shoulder—is that what people do? Silver wouldn’t really know—and steps back.

“Don’t be a no-show tomorrow. Your friend Ethan will be waiting for you.”

“He’s not…” Silver sighs and looks back at the sea. “Whatever. Maybe. And…thanks, Lance.”

“Anytime.”

**Author's Note:**

> i mostly wrote this because 1) i love silver, 2) i really enjoyed playing through this event in the pokémon masters app, and 3) i wanted to put off folding my laundry. thanks for reading!
> 
> silver liking to skip rocks is a random hc that i thought of after noticing how much water is in the dragon's den; the bit about him training there is from the gen 2 remakes
> 
> i chose not to capitalize the words "pokémon" and "trainer" because i wouldn't capitalize, like, "animal" or "person." the name of silver's sneasel is written like that 'cause (i imagine) silver just calls it "Sneasel"
> 
> one more thing: i hate that i have to clarify, but this is not meant to be read as portraying anything other than a platonic, found-family type of relationship. silver is a teenager who just needs a dad. and lance, a full-grown adult, is that dad


End file.
